Marketing and advertising is an increasingly important focus of many businesses today. The number of potential customers in the world for any particular business is staggering. Companies often spend a significant portion of their revenue on advertising in order to attract more customers. However, advertising can be extremely expensive depending on the particular advertising medium, audience scope, and exposure time. In light of the tremendous expense associated with advertising coupled with the potential revenue generated by a successful advertisement, it can be crucial for a business to expose the right type of advertisement to the right type of consumer at the right time in order for an advertisement campaign to be worthwhile.
Targeted advertising is one method used by businesses to increase the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns. Targeted advertising includes focusing the advertising on consumers most likely to purchase the product or service that is the subject of the advertisement. The greater the ability that a company has for establishing target parameters and distributing advertisements according to those precise parameters, the more success the company is likely to have. For example, a company that sells 80% of its products to women between 18 and 25 years of age who work out more than three times a week may enjoy a greater return on their advertising expenses if they target women between 18 and 25 years of age who work out more than three times a week than they would if they mass mailed advertisements without regard for these parameters or if they only targeted women or if they only targeted women between 18 and 25 years of age.
However, there are many dynamic variables to a consumer's decision to purchase a product or service that are difficult for an advertiser to capitalize on. Many consumers decide to make a purchase without prior planning. This may occur because the consumer happens to be at a particular location and sees a product or service that they wish to purchase. A consumer may be window-shopping and may or may not decide to enter a store based on what they see or even what kind of mood they are in at the time. There is a need to be able to disseminate information to these consumers based not only on traditional targeting parameters, but also on dynamic parameters that may influence a consumer's desire to purchase a product or service at any particular time.